I Promise
by julezchan
Summary: Life at East High,friendship,love,family,will it ever go back to the way it was?
1. Chapter 1: Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 1: Never Say Goodbye…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The High School Musical characters.

"Gabby! Wait up!" Taylor shouted. Gabriella turned around at the sound of her name. Taylor looked upset and she wore an unhappy look as she skidded to a stop in front of Gabby.

"What is it? Are you alright?" a very surprised Gabriella asked. Taylor whispered something into Gabriella's ears.

"WHAT! Yea right, I'm sure she is", said Gabby, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious! She really is!" Taylor said, insistently. Gabriella started laughing.

"Umm…Gab, did I miss something?"

"Oh..no, I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say that Cassie is leaving, ha ha, you had me fooled there for a second," Gabby said.

"It's true! I'm not joking!" Taylor said.

BANG. Gabriella felt the world crashing around her. It was as if everyone stopped talking. She stared, open-mouthed at Taylor for a whole minute and heard her voice at a distance,

" Wh-wha-what? No, this cant be happening. You're lying right? Yea, you must be. Yea, Dana is lying. Don't listen to her," Gabriella dropped her books and ran. She ran and ran without stopping. She didnt even know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to go away from this place. She just couldn't face Taylor or any of her friends now. They probably knew about this before she did. Everyone probably did. How come no one told her? Why didn't they think she had the right to know? Cassie was one of her best friends! How could they treat her like that! Gabriella couldn't take it anymore with these thoughts running through her head, she fell as her eyes bled tears that she was holding back. She sobbed as if there was no tomorrow. Darkness clutched at her heart, enveloping the once cheerful person she was. She sat there, her shoulders jerking with every unsteady breath she took, thinking about how miserable life was. She stayed there for a whole hour, letting sleep take control.

"Gabby? Gabriella! Oh God, Gabriella, are you ok?" Gabriella woke and found herself staring into Troy's eyes.

"I feel like my head's been split into two, what happened?" Gabby asked, stretching.

" I don't know, you missed class and lunch so I came looking for you. What were you doing? Taylor said she couldn't find you anywhere then I came here, you had me worried sick Gabby, What were you thinking?" asked a very concerned Troy. Gabby shook her head and then realization hit her. She closed her eyes, willing herself to not cry in front of Troy but tears seeped through her closed eyelids anyway and after a minute, she found Troy stroking her hair, whispering words of comfort. She relished that moment of comfort, glad that she had such a caring boyfriend.

"ca-Cassie is leaving", she managed to choke out after a while. Troy was silent for a while, taking in the information.

"its gonna be alright, she can still visit, and you know I'll always be here, right? Don't worry, everything will be fine. Although I don't really know Cassie that well but I'm sure she is a great person for you to cry like that, everything is gonna be fine, everything is gonna be fine", Troy whispered. Gabriella counted to 5 and at the end of 5, she felt calmer, it was something Troy taught her. She got up and brushed dust of her pants. Before she left, she turned back and said,

"Don't ever leave me, okay?"

"I'll always be here for you, I'll never leave, I promise…."

review, review, review!


	2. Chapter 2: Goodbye For Now

Chapter 2: Goodbye For Now…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The High School Musical characters.

News of Cassie's leaving flew around the school like wildfire. Cassie was a semi-popular student at East High. She was nice to everyone and helped out whenever possible, but the main reason why she stood out was because she was an inspiration. She never believed in cliques. She was the first to do that. She mixed around and encouraged the students to stand up for themselves. She gave everyone a sense of security, belief. She was more than a friend to Gabriella, she was like a sister. She taught Gabby things she never knew and could always count on her for help and support, now she had to go. Gabriella decided to hold a party for her. She asked Taylor, Troy, Kelsie, Sharpay and Ryan to help her. They all agreed after a little persuasion. The only problem was, Cassie was going to leave in two days time and they were involved in many activities. Sharpay and Ryan had drama club meetings after school on the upcoming production and Troy had basketball practice. Taylor had study group and Gabby had study group and drama club meetings to attend. All these events were happening at different times. Fortunately, Gabby devised a plan for them. They were to drop by at an unused classroom at the end of the hallway at any time possible. They agreed to make a large banner and a humongous card with signatures and notes by Cassie's friends and hold a party for her. Kelsie were to tell everyone Cassie knew to drop by the classroom to write a little note to Cassie in the card. Gabriella and Troy were to work on the banner and Sharpay and Ryan were to cooperate with Chad and Zeke to organize the party. They all worked hard to make Cassie's last day, a memorable one. On the day before she left, they were amazed at what little effort can do. Everything was going according to plan and Cassie was going to love it. They had arranged for decorations to be put up at the cafeteria and caterers to serve food. Everyone had brought a farewell present for Cassie and were waiting to surprise her as she walked in.

"Quick, quick, she'll be here soon"

"Omigosh, she's like, here, quick, like, hide!", a cheerleader said.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted when Cassie stepped into the dark cafeteria. The lights snapped on and music was played. Everyone had a great time.

"Everybody, may I have your attention please? As you all know, today is Cassie's last day at East High. I would now like to call her up for a speech", Gabby said.

"Wow, first of all, I would really want to thank you all for this wonderful celebration. You guys really worked hard, thank you so much. I hope you have enjoyed yourselves and I will miss you all when I leave", Cassie said as the bell rung.

"And I guess we have to go back to class now", everyone laughed.

"Clean-up crew. Here. Now." Sharpay said into her mobile.

Everyone groaned as they hurried to their classes. Cassie stayed behind to thank her good friends. When the final bell had rung, they ran out to say goodbye to Cassie. This would be her last school day. After today, they would rarely see her. Gabriella, Kelsie, Sharpay and Taylor were grouped into an emotional hug. Fresh tears broke out and the guys looked suspiciously bright-eyed. They watched Cassie go with a pang of sadness in their hearts. They will always miss her and would remember her as a true friend….

A/n: heyz, this is my 1st fanfic story so it probably isn't very good. I would really appreciate ure comments though. r/r!


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